Leo Chu and Eric Garcia have worked on Finding Nemo, Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and currently work together on the hit animated series, Afro Samurai

HONOLULU — Leo Chu, Head of Animation for SPIKE TV/MTV Networks, and Eric Garcia, animated film creator, screenwriter and producer, will present a Master Class on contemporary animation to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Academy for Creative Media (ACM) on Thursday, March 8, at 10:30 a.m. in Webster Hall, Room 112. The program is open to all students and the public.

Chu is executive producer and Garcia is creative consultant for the hit animated series "Afro Samurai" starring Samuel L. Jackson and featuring music by the RZA. Both previously worked at Disney Studios where Chu was vice president of creative affairs. Their collective credits include "Finding Nemo," "Mulan," "Lilo & Stitch," "Recess" and the upcoming "Meet the Robinsons." Both have also worked on U.S. adaptations of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki‘s "Spirited Away" and "Castle in the Sky."

"Leo and Eric show the fantastic potential of how Hawaiʻi, with its dynamic ACM animation program and talented students, can become a center for the creation, writing and production of animated film for the industry," said Chris Lee, Academy for Creative Media founder and director. "The two energetic young men are a driving force in the growing animation arena and consider Hawaiʻi an ideal place to develop an animation industry."

Chu and Garcia‘s presentation is part of the ACM/Jay Shidler Family Foundation Master Class Series. While the presentation is open, seating is limited so reservations are required by contacting Lily Ching at 956-7736 or lilychin@hawaii.edu.

The Academy for Creative Media is the university‘s primary place for the production and study of digital media in film, animation, computer game design, indigenous and critical studies.